Offensive Guard ~ Frank Ragnow ~ Arkansas RazorBacks ~ 6050/312

Regarding Offensive Guards

I consider Offensive Guards far more crucial to their Teams's Prospects than most consider them to be.

The Gutters are riddled with the Corpses of Teams that were built around so-called "skill" Players ~ teams that delighted their Fantasy FootBall Fans every Year, all the way until January...until The Only Games That Really Matter.

It is then, of course, that the Capacity ~ or lack thereof ~ to Move The Chains and protect the QuarterBack against PlayOff Caliber Defenses rears its ugly head. And another Team built for Fantasy FootBall bites the dust.

This is how I break things down, when I'm evaluating Offensive Guards:

Power: Above all: Core Power. Torso Power is important, but Core Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial. All the upper body Strength in the world will still fail if you simply can't dig in your Heels. But Core Power enables an Offensive Lineman to project Power in the Running Game and to reject Power in the Passing Game.

Agility: Launch Velocity, Acceleration, and above all: Fluidity or Core Agility. Core Agility is even more essential to sustained good Health ~ and to sustained good FootBall ~ than Core Power. The ability to react with Serpentine smoothness is a tremendous Asset in all Aspects of the Game, and certainly in the Hand to Hand Combat that characterizes Trench Warfare. All the Power in the World goes only so far if you're lurching around like FrankenStein.

* Vertical Leverage. Height is crucial, but it's actually better, I believe, to be an Inch shorter than an Inch Taller.* Hands. The larger the better, generally, but compact is never a bad Attribute in The Trenches.* Arm Length. Absolutely crucial. He who boasts the longer Arms initiates Combat.* WingSpan. Arm Length + Torso Width. A more complete Measurement.

Power: 75. Has better Torso Power than Core Power, because his effective Core Power is hampered by marginal Core Agility, but that Core Power is nevertheless exceptional. He can project power and he can reject power.

Agility: 33. Bit'f a Zombie, out there. Can be blasted by by Pass Rushers and he whiffs in the open field.

Frame: 60. He's the Right Height for solid Vertical Leverage, and his WingSpan is sufficient.

Processing Speed: 90. Outstanding feel for the game. 2 Years at Center.

Motor: 100. Sensational Intensity and excellent Stamina.

Run Blocking: 60 on a Zone Scheme Team but 80 on a Power Scheme Team, despite his athletic limitations.

Pass Blocking: 50. His Agility is a big Liability, but his Power, Smarts, and Motor will allow'm to compete.

Frank Ragnow ~ Prospectus

Frank Ragnow's Agility is poor enough to render'm a potential Liability in Pass Blocking, which could hold'm back from ever winning a starting job. But my sense is that he's got a strong chance of overcoming that. He's got a tremendous fusion of Power, Intelligence, and Drive to recommend'm favorably, and I believe that it's very likely that he'll develop sufficiently effective Combat Skills to compete with all but the most athletic interior Defenders at the next level.

He could make a tremendous impact as a Run Blocker on a Power Scheme Team.

And he should be able to compete, anyways, as a Pass Blocker.

An added Bonus is that Ragnow brings genuine positional versatility to the Field of Battle: He's started multiple years both at Center and at Guard, and is indeed listed as a Center everywhere but here. I've listed'm as a Guard, because I believe his excellent Power is best deployed there and because his marginal Agility is best deployed away from Center...But he's definitely got the brains to play Center, if needed, and he's a tremendous Leader: rare genuine versatility.

Thank you so very much, Draft BreakDown, without whom my Work would be virtually impossible.

Yank Rank: Warrior ~ Par Value

Market Value

2nd/3rd Round

Yankee Grade

2nd/3rd Round

Please do Note, Fellow FootBall Fiends: This and all CyberScouting Reports issued by this Site are produced by a ludicrously unqualified Amateur, privy to not even the tiniest fraction of Coach's Tape, Scouting Expertise, Face to Face Interviewing, Experience, or Inside Information enjoyed by the Professionals. As such, anything put forth is certainly misinformed, euphonious, derivative Tripe, and should be rejected out'f hand and indeed shunned by all men and women with even reasonable levels of intelligence or Good Will!! I'm trying to discern Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and far more abstract, esoteric Concepts such as Processing Speed and Motor, and Intelligence and Drive, and I'm trying to do so based almost entirely on a fascinating fusion of Tape, Combine Numbers, and Pro Days, while trying to attenuate my findings based on making Allowances for Competition Level, Scheme, Concept, Context, and, above all: Trajectory!!

Please also note, Fellow FootBall Fiends: These CyberScouting Reports are not intended as predictions of success or failure, but as assessments ~ ludicrously amateurish assessments ~ of potential success. FootBall is a rough and often unfair business, and many a worthy Prospect has fallen far short of his potential, sometimes not because of his own failings, but because of those of coaching, scheme, timing...or because huge investments were made on other Prospects.

In other words: If any of my Super Dooper Deeper Sleepers ever fail to fulfill their vast potential, I’m confident that it goes without saying that it wasn’t their fault…or mine!!...Yes, I think that I'm being funny.